Manufacture of shoes



July 21, 1931. G. GODDU 1,815,298

MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Original Filed July 29, 1927 Patented July 21, 1931en STATES GEORGE GODDU, 0F WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGN- BIENTS, TO THE LITTLEWAY PROCESS COIlIPANY, OF BOSTON,MIASSACHUSETTS, A

CORIPORATEON OF MASSACHUSETTS MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Original applicationfiled July 29, 1927, Serial No. 209,299. Divided: and'this applicationfiled- January 21,

1930. Serial This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes, andmore particularly to that stage of shoe manufacture in which the upperis pulled or shaped in conformity to the conatom of the last and isfastened to a sole or insole on the last, this application being adivision of a copending application, Serial No. 209,299, filed on July29, 1927. The invention is herein illustrated by reference to the lastinof an upper successively in different locations along the edge of theshoe bottom, and also by reference to the manufacture of shoes of thattype in which the ma 1'- gin of the upper is lasted in substantiallyra-llel relation to the outer or bottom face 0. an insole preparatory tothe fastening of an outsole directly to the lasted margin, for example,by through-and-through stitches penetrating both the out-sole and theinsole. it is to be understood, however, that in these and otherrespects the invention in itsmore general aspects is not limited to theillustrativc disclosure.

ln Letters Patent No. 1=,74l2,501,, granted on J January 7,1930,upon acopending application,

Serial No. 72%,135, filed on July 3, 1924, I disclosed and claimed anovel method of making shoes such, for example, as those, of theabeve-mentioned type, whereby the upper was :fllbjGCtell to tension orlasting strain and while held under strain was fastened to the insole ineach lasting location by a fastening,

shown as a staple, anchored by curvature,

within the body of the insole instead of by clinching it on any surfaceof the work.

ldore particularly, in accordance with that disclosure, the legs of eachstaple were deflected in planes transverse to the cross-bar in thedriving operation, by engaging them at the same side of the work fromwhich the f staple was driven, to cause them to follow curved paths inthe insole. The present invention provides a method whereby an up-' peris subjected to strain or tension and'whlle anchored by curvature in thesame general. manner disclosed in the above-mentioned Letters Patent andso an )llGCl, having regard especially to the direction of the strainonthe upper, as to afford. particularly effective inover the last and itsmargin laid inwardly over the insole under lasting strain, and while itis held under strain it is fastened by driving a staple through it andinto the insole with the cross-bar of the staple extending lengthwise ofthe edge of the insole and by so deflecting the legs of the staple as tocause them to follow curved paths leading inwardly away from the edge ofthe insole to anchor them. lVith the staple applied in this manner, thepull of the margin of the upper thereon in a direction outwardly towardthe edge of the insole only tends to turn the staple about the axis ofcurvature of its legs in the same direction in which the legs weredeflected in the insole, so that special insurance is afforded that theupper will be held securely against loss of tension. Preferably, asillustrated, the fastening or staple is driven by force applied in adirection inclined outwardly toward the edge of the insole while beingdeflected or curved as about described.

The novel method will now be more particularly explained by reference tothe accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claims. Thedrawings illustrate the practice of the method by the aid of 0perat-ininstrunicntalities wiich are part of :1 machine organii tween them;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a shoe lasted by the methodof thisinvention; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of a instrumentalitiesaspositioned in Fig. 3 and illustrating more fully the relation beinccompleted shoe of the through-and-through sewed type, illustrating therelation of the upper-fastening staples to the outs-ole stitches.

The drawings illustrate the side-lasting of a shoe of theabove-mentioned type, which includes an insole at having a plane outeror bottom face and upper materials Z), hereinafter referred toinclusively as the upper. Prior to the side-lasting operation, if theusual procedure is followed, the upper will have been pulled over andfastened at the toe positions for the lasting of the different portionsof the upper with one side thereof in engagement with an edge rest 10and with the outer face of the insole in engagement with a sole rest 12.Nith the shoe thus posi ti-oned, the upper is pulled by a gripper 14;shown in full lines in Fig. l, but in dotted lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,since in the lastmentioned figures the plane of section behind thelocation of the gripper. it will be understood that the ripper pul s theupper first in a direction heightwise of the last and 1 then in adirection inwardl I from the ed 'e of the last bottom over the outerface of the insole shown in Fig. 1. Thereafter the margin of the upper,while herd yieldingly by the gripper, is laid inwardly over the insoleand pressed down uponthe outer or bottom fa e of the latter underlasting strain by the action of overlaying and fastening meanscomprising a staple-guiding nozzle 16 and a staple deflector 18, asillustrated in Fig. 2, these parts being movable in the overlayingoperation in a direction inclined downwardly toward the outer face ofthe insole and inwardly away from the edge of the latter. After theparts have arrived substantially in t ie positions indicated in Fig. 2,the upper is released by the gripper, and its margin is then held insubstantially parallel relation to the outer face of the insole by theoverlaying and fastening means while a staple is driven to fasten theupper to the insole.

The upper-fastening staple, havin initially straight legs, is driven bya driver 20 which is movable in a guideway in the staple nozzle 16 in adirection inclined downwardly and outwardly toward the edge of theinsole, or outwardly toward that side of the shoe which is nearest tothe fastening point. The staple is thus driven with its cross-barextending lengthwise of the edge of the insole, and as it is driven itslegs are engaged and deflected or curved by the deflector 18, the lowerend of which occupies a position opposite the end of thestaple-gniijling passage in the nozzlelG for engaging the staple legs atthe same side of the work from which the staple is driven, i. e.,without the presence of any portion of the work between the deflectorand the nozzle. The deflector 18 is provided with grooves, one of whichis shown in dotted lines at 22 (Fi 1), for guiding and deflecting thestaple legs in planes transverse to the crossbar, and different portionsof the legs are thus deflected or curved successively in the drivingoperation before the different respective portions enter the shoe. itwill be observed that, while the staple is driven by force applied in adi rection inclined outwardly toward the edge of the insole ashereinbefore described, the staple legs are deflected in such paths thatthey enter the shoe in directions approximately perpendicular to theouter face of the insole and then follow curved paths leading inwardlyaway from the edge of the insole, the degree of curvature of the legsbeing preferably such that their ends return toward the outer face ofthe insole without penetrating its inner face. It will thus be seen thatthe legs of the staple are curved substanti ally throughout theirlengths, and that after the staple has been driven the ends of the legsare located farther inwardly from the edge of the insole than thecross-bar.

It will be understood that after these operations have been performed inone location, the shoe is moved to a different position and the sameoperations are repeated. In this manner the sides of the shoe are lastedprogressively, the upper being fastened initially, yet permanently, ineach lasting location without loss of tension between the upperpullingand the fastening operations. By reference to Fig. l it will be seenthat the pull is appliedtotheuppcr bythe gripper l lin a locationsomewhat displaced lengthwise of the edge of the shoe bottom from thelocation where the staple is driven. iiccordingly, the staple isnotdriven in a location directly in line with the gripper, although driventhrough a portion of the upper which is subjected tension by thegripper. It will be understood that this arrangement of the parts is forpurposes of convenience, and that the invention is not limited to theillustrated relation between the location of the fastening and thelocation where the pull is applied to the upper.

It will be evident that when the staples are driven and anchored in themanner above described, with their legs curved inwardly away from theedge of the insole, the pull or strain of the lasted upper thereon,which principally in a direction outwardly toward the edge of theinsole, only tends to turn each staple about the axis of curvature ofits legs in the same direction in which the were so that the staplesmaintain a firm hold o-n the upper .by the security of their anchoragein the insole.

Fig. 6 illustrates, in a shoe of the throughand-through sewed type, therelation of the staples s, driven and anchored as hereinbeforedescribed, to the seam t whereby the outsole c is secured to the upperand insole. It will be evident that when the staples are driven andanchored in the manner illustrated, they may be so applied as topenetrate the upper in locations nearer the edge of the insole, withoutdanger that their legs will interfere with the out-sole stitches, thanif the legs were deflected outwardly toward the edge of the insole toanchor them.

WVhile the invention is illustrated and described with particularreference to the manufacture of shoes having an outsole and an insole inthe relation disclosed, the invention in various aspects, ashereinbefore stated, is not limited in utility to the manufacture ofthat particular type of shoe, and the term sole is accordingly used inthe claims in a comprehensive sense to include both theinsole of sometypes of shoes and also that part which in shoes of other types may bethe outsole or the only sole with which the shoe is provided. It is tobe further understood that in the claims the expression edge of the soleis used for convenience to designate that por tion of the edge which isnearest to the location where the fastening is inserted, and that theexpression bottom face of the sole is used with reference to that facewhich is outermost at the time of the lasting of the shoe, regardless ofits position in the completed shoe.

The lasting means herein disclosed is claimed in another divisionalapplication, Serial No. 422,453 filed on Jan. 21, 1930; and the methodof upper-fastening per se and the product of the method are claimed instill.

another divisional application, Serial No. 422,452 filed on Jan. 21,1980.

Having described theinvention and set forth fully how the novel methodmay be practiced, what I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of lasting shoes which consists inconforming an unlastcd portion of an upper to the shape of a last andlaying its margin inwardly over a sole on the last, and while holdingthe upper in lasted position fastening it initially, yet

permanently, to the sole by a metallic fastening anchored within thebody of the sole by curvature thereof in a direction away from lastedportion of an upper to the shape of a A: -last andv laying its margininwardly over a sole on the last, and while holding the upper in lastedposition fastening it initially, yet permanently, to the sole by astaple applied with its cross-bar extending lengthwise of the edge ofthe sole and its legs anchored within the body of the sole hy-c-urt'ature thereof in paths leading inwardly 'away from said edge.

3. That improvement in methods of last inig shoes which consists inpulling an upper over a last ha'ving a sole thereon, pressing the upperagainst the sole, and while thus pressing the upper fastening itinitially, yet permanently, to the sole by a metallic fasteningappliedat a distance from the edge of the sole and curved substantiallythroughout its lengthin such a direction that its entering end isdisplacedinwardly from the edge of the sole relatively to its,upper-engaging portion. y

i. That improvement in methods of making shoes which con ists in pullingan upper over a last having a sole thereon, pressing the upper againstthe sole, and while thus pressthe u; ac-r fastening it to the sole by ast 7 .7 its cross-bar extending lengthwise of the'edge of the sole andits legs curved away from the edgeof the sole to anchor them.

5. lnat i mrovement in methods of lastingshoeswhich consists inconforming an unlasted portion of an upper to the shape of a last andlaying its margin inwardly over a sole on the last,,then while holdingthe upper in lasted position driving a metallic fastening through theupper and into the sole in a location at a distance from the edge'of thesole to fasten the upper initially, y-et' permanently, tothesole,.a11d'hy engaging different portions of said fasteningsuccessively in the driving operation, before the different respectiveportions enter the sole, deflecting the fastening in a curved pathleading inwardly away from the edge of the sole to anchor it in thesole.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in pullingan upper over a last having 'a solcthoreon, pressing the upper againstthe sole, while thus pressing the upper driving a staple in a locationat a distance from the edge of the sole with its crossbar extendinglengthwise of said edge to fasten the u. yer and b en a in the le s of 3Q b b D the-staple in the driving operation at the same side of the workfrom which the staple is driven curving them substantially throughouttheir lengths in directions such that they follow curvedp-aths leadinginwardly away rom the edge of t-hesole to anchor them.

7.- That improvement in methods of making shoes whichconsists in pullingan upper over a last having a sole thereon, pressing the upper'uponthebottom face of the sole, while thus pressing the upper driving astaplethroughthe upper and into the sole with its cross-bar extendinglengthwise of the edge of the sole to fasten the upper to said face, and

the sole, deflecting them in curved paths leading inwardly away from theedge of the sole by engaging different portions of the legs of to anchorthem.

the staple successively in the driving operation, before the difierentrespective portions enter the sole, deflecting them in curved pathsleading inwardly away from the edge of the sole and reversely toward itsbottom face to anchor them. a

8. That improvement in methods of mak ing shoes which consists inpulling an upper over a last and inwardly over a sole on the last,pressing the upper upon the bottom face of the sole, while thus pressingthe upper driving a fastening by force applied in a direction inclinedoutwardly toward the edge of the sole to fasten the upper to the sole,and by engaging the fastening in the driving operation at the same sideof the work from which it is driven deflecting it progressively in acurved path leading inwardly away from the edge of the sole to anchorit.

9. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in pullingan upper over a last and inwardly over a sole on the last, pressing theupper upon the bottom face of the sole, while thus pressing the upperdriving a staple by force applied in a direction inclined outwardlytoward the edge of the sole with the cross-bar of the staple extendinglengthwise of said edge to fasten the upper to the sole, and by engagingdifferent portions of the legs of the staple successively in the drivingoperation, before the diflerent respective portions enter the sole,deflecting them in curved paths leading inwardly away from the edge ofthe sole to anchor them.

10. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inpulling an upper over a last having a sole thereon, laying the upperupon the bottom face of the sole by pressure applied in a directioninclined inwardly away from the edge of the sole, driving a fastening byforce applied in a direction inclined outwardly toward the edge of thesole to fasten the upper on said face, and by engaging the fastening inthe driving operation at the same side of the work from which it isdriven deflecting it in a curved path leading inwardly away from theedge of the sole to anchor it. I

11. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inpulling an upper over a last and inwardly over a sole on the last,laying the margin of the upper upon the bottom face of the sole bypressure applied in a direction inclined inwardly away from the edge ofthe sole, driving a staple by force applied in a direction inclinedoutwardly toward the edge of the sole with the crossbe r of the stapleextending lengthwise of said edge to fasten the upper to the sole, andby engaging different portions of the legs of the staple successively inthe driving operation, before the different respective portions enter Intestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE GODDU.

